Bucks don't appear to be merely an early-season fluke in a there-for-the-taking Eastern Conference

Dirk Nowitzki owns the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season by a 7-footer, making 151 for the Mavericks way back in the 2000-01 season.

It’s a record that the Bulls’ Lauri Markkanen flirted with last season before falling six short, the third-most since Nowitzki also sank 148 during the 2002-03 campaign.

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Through 14 games, Bucks big man Brook Lopez is on pace not only to break Nowitzki’s record but shatter it. Freed to launch freely in new coach Mike Budenholzer’s aesthetically pleasing offensive system, Lopez would sink 240 3-pointers if he maintains his current — and ridiculous — pace.

“They figured out that what’s best for him is giving him the one thing he’s really good at and limiting him, not giving him too much responsibility,” Bulls center Robin Lopez cracked.

The Lopez twins throwing shade at each other is normal. The Bucks flashing potential staying power for a deep playoff run is not. This is a franchise that hasn’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since George Karl rode Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell to the 2001 Eastern Conference finals.

On Friday, the Bulls will get their first regular-season look at the Bucks under their new coach as well as their new arena, Fiserv Forum. The team doesn’t appear to be merely an early-season fluke in a there-for-the-taking Eastern Conference.

Despite suffering their first home loss Wednesday to the Grizzlies, the 10-4 Bucks ranked first in point differential at plus-10.9 as of Thursday morning. They are second to the Warriors in offensive rating at 115.1 and own a blowout road victory over those same Warriors, the two-time defending NBA champions.

“I kept telling people they’re going to be a team to reckon with,” Celtics All-Star big man Al Horford said. “This doesn’t surprise me one bit. They have a high ceiling.”

In large part, that ceiling has been created by the star power of Giannis Antetokounmpo, a transformative talent who will turn 24 next month and be a most valuable player candidate for years to come. But Horford also speaks knowingly of the culture-changing ways of Budenholzer.

Horford became an All-Star and played for a 60-win Hawks team that advanced to the 2015 Eastern Conference finals under Budenholzer, whom the Bucks hired after not retaining Joe Prunty. As interim coach in place of the fired Jason Kidd, Prunty almost engineered a first-round upset of Horford’s Celtics, a seven-game series loss.

“He has a great feel for the locker room,” Horford said of Budenholzer. “I feel he has a genuine care for his players. He gets the most out of his players.

“He encourages you. He gives you confidence offensively. I know it helped me tremendously because with him I started shooting 3s. That’s one of the things that he helped me with, giving me the confidence to shoot 3s and not worry about what anybody says or sees. He supports you in that way. I just think that makes him unique.”

At 35, Jon Horst is the youngest general manager in the NBA. His offseason moves weren’t limited to the hiring of Budenholzer, 49. He drafted Donte DiVincenzo in the first round, let Jabari Parker walk in free agency and signed Lopez, Ersan Ilyasova and Pat Connaughton, floor spacers with the green light to create room for Antetokounmpo.

These signings represent the solid role players the Bucks value around Antetokounmpo. Their starting five of Malcolm Brogdon, Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, Lopez and Antetokounmpo features just Lopez as a (long-ago) lottery pick. Brogdon and Middleton are second-round selections.

As recently as 2013-14, the Bucks owned the worst record in the NBA at 15-67. That was Antetokounmpo’s rookie season. Parker arrived as the No. 2 pick the following season, which ended prematurely when Parker suffered the first of two left ACL tears in December 2014.

Antetokounmpo’s rise demonstrates the need for a transcendent star. But the fact he averaged only 6.8 points for a league-worst team and now is surrounded by solid, if unspectacular, pieces could provide hope for the Bulls’ rebuild.

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This assumes, of course, the Bulls already employ a player capable of making a similar jump. Zach LaVine and Markkanen are the two best candidates to reach perennial All-Star level. Drafting well and signing the right role players are essential as well.

At 6-foot-11 and possessing freakish athleticism — hence, the nickname “The Greek Freak” — Antetokounmpo isn’t a bad player to inherit. Former general manager John Hammond, now with the Magic, drafted him 15th after players such as Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore were off the board.

Parker witnessed Antetokounmpo’s ascension first-hand.

“You can always see the determination of someone, the hard work,” Parker said. “He’s super passionate, always willing to work. Nothing has changed. He’s a great teammate to play off of because he’s so skilled but also unselfish. You always want to play with guys like that.”